


Not Guilty

by horrific-space (richiespacedust1)



Series: Kill the Competition - Chicago AU [4]
Category: Newsies - All Media Types, Newsies!: the Musical - Fierstein/Menken
Genre: Character Death, Decapitation, M/M, Mild Gore, Period-Typical Homophobia, someone gets called a fag
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-15
Updated: 2019-04-15
Packaged: 2020-01-11 06:05:30
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,719
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18424413
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/richiespacedust1/pseuds/horrific-space
Summary: Mit keresek, enn itt? Azt mondjok, hogy lakem lefogta a ferjemeten meg lecsaptam a fejet. De nem igaz, en artatlan vagyok. Nemtudom mert mondja Uncle Sam hogy en tetten. Probaltam a rendorsegenmegmagyarazni de nem ertettek meg...Rough Translation:They say my famous lover (neighbor?) held down my husband and I cut his head off. But it's not true. I am innocent. I don't know why Uncle Sam says I did it.





	Not Guilty

**Author's Note:**

> I have nothing to say for myself

Romeo wanted to get one thing straight: he did NOT kill his husband. But they wouldn't listen to him. They wouldn't listen to him at all. They said that they couldn't understand him. He spoke near perfect English and they said they couldn't understand him. He should be used to this by now. But it still stung a little whenever someone said they couldn't understand his accent. As the cops dragged him towards the coach, he went over the details of what had just happened.

Earlier That Day  
Romeo and Ben had been living together for three years now. Ben was sweet, and Romeo loved him more than he could ever say. Most people fell for the "adopted brother" lie, but those who were close to Ben knew their truths. And while it made Romeo a little nervous whenever Ben did something like grab his hand or kiss his cheek, Ben was completely fine with being open around those he trusted. Maybe that was his mistake, huh? Maybe Romeo should have pressed him to not openly show affection more.  
But he didn't, he wouldn't dare, because he loved the thrill he got whenever his lover kissed him in front of one of his friends. Even if he had asked, he doubted Ben would oblige. He was just too open.

It made Romeo uncomfortable, the way Ben's friend - what was his name? Stephen? - looked at him. His gaze was filled with malice, as if the only thing Stephen could think of was hurting him. But Romeo thought nothing of it, and buried his face in his husband's neck. The conversation topic changed to the recent apprehension of the famous Vaudevillian, Mike Guzman, who was accused of killing his twin brother Ike and "close friend" Patrick Cortes.  
"Did you hear they think he was a homosexual? They say him and that Patrick guy were fooling around, and that the reason he killed the two is because he caught Patrick and his brother going at it in the hotel room." Stephen recounted, lighting a cigarette.  
Ben just laughed. "Those are just rumors, Stephen. He wouldn't have got famous if he was a fag."  
"Maybe he slept his way to the top." It was a casual comment, but the way Stephen was looking at him with those dark, dark eyes made Romeo uncomfortable.  
Excusing himself, he peeled himself off of Ben and walked to the bathroom, making sure the door was locked behind him. Leaning against the counter, he let out a long breath. He wasn't cut out for this. Not at all. He should be on the sidelines, not under the scrutiny of everyone. Especially not like this. Being with Ben was great. It was dancing to music only they could hear in the kitchen at three am, and it was soft touches of reassurance in crowds, and it was Ben's soft smile when he could tell Romeo was getting nervous. Loving Ben was loud, and fast, but it was also quiet, and calm, and perfect. It was all Romeo wanted in the world. But sometimes he felt like he couldn't keep up with his husband's fast-paced world.

There was a quiet knock on the door, and Romeo heard Ben whisper through the door "hey, are you okay?" He wiped the tears from his eyes and opened the door with a smile. Ben matched his smile, and took his hand, leading them out to the living room. Romeo quickly noticed that Stephen had disappeared. He didn't think much of it though, and allowed himself to be pulled down on top of Ben, his head resting on the other's chest.

They stayed like that, silent and comfortable, for a few more hours. Ben had drifted off about an hour before, but Romeo slowly started to detangle himself from his husband. He had hardly lifted himself up when Ben roused, blinking slowly, and smiling like an idiot. Romeo couldn't help but smile back.  
"What're you doing?" Ben asked sleepily, running his hands up Romeo's sides.  
"Just going to bed. Want to come with?" Another sleepy smile from the love of his life. Ben nodded, and Romeo stood up, pulling Ben up with him. They walked to their bedroom, and promptly fell asleep.

The Day of the Murder  
Romeo snapped awake, his heart racing. The last remnants of his dream faded, but he was left with the feeling of dread. Ben slept peacefully next to him, but the sight did nothing to ease his anxiety. Quietly, he got out of bed, and padded into the kitchen. The stray cat that was at their front door every morning, waiting for Romeo to open the door so it could come in and they'd have breakfast together, was gone. Romeo just passed it off as it finding another family to bug.

He started the coffeemaker, and sat down at the table, his head in his hands. He stayed like that until Ben walked in, woken by the smell of coffee. Ben reached across the table, lightly touching his arm.  
"Romeo? Honey, what's wrong?" He whispered.  
Romeo couldn't bear to look at him. Not with what he saw in his dream still fresh in his mind. If he met the eyes of his lover, he knew he would immediately burst into tears. But Ben could always tell when his nightmares got worse, so it wasn't like he could avoid the subject at all.  
"You were screaming last night." It was all he said, but Romeo's heart started pounding anyways. Ben reached out and touched his arm. "Romeo, sweetheart, please look at me. Look me in the eyes." Reluctantly, he did, and was surprised to see his husband's face red with tears. Oh, god, what did he say?  
"You kept screaming and screaming and begging him not to do it. I heard every word, Romeo, even when I went into the guest room upstairs, like you told me to do when it got bad. Every. Word. Why didn't you tell me it was that bad? Why didn't you tell me what he did to you?" So that's what he was sad about? The abuse? Not the fact that Romeo almost certainly screamed Ben's name while he slept?  
"I didn't want you to worry." Romeo mumbled, looking away.  
"You didn't want me to worry? Romeo, your father raped you. Beat you. And the part that really gets me is you still let him see you. You still let this... monster into your life." Ben was crying, and Romeo wanted nothing more than to leap across the table and hold him. He couldn't stand seeing Ben like this, crying about something that happened in his childhood. Something that happened before he even came to America.

Instinctively, Romeo reached for Ben's hand, and Ben took it, holding on tightly. Tighter than normal. It got to the point where it was near unbearable, but Romeo held on, knowing Ben was distressed - and worried - beyond belief. He ran his thumb across the back of his husband's hand in an attempt to comfort him. He should be the one comforting me. He thought bitterly, and immediately felt bad for it. Ben has never dealt with something like this before. His father was a good, loving dad, his mom was in his life even now, and he had siblings who loved and cared for him, despite his "eccentric life choices," as his mother would say. How was he supposed to deal with this?

"Ben...." Romeo trailed off, deciding that was he was going to say wasn't important. This wasn't about him and his trauma anymore. It was about Ben, and helping Ben through this. The way Ben looked at him, his eyes filled with sadness and love - unconditional love - made him burst into tears. Immediately, Ben was standing, and running to his side, launching himself into Romeo's arms. Ben held him harder than he ever had before, his arms tight around Romeo's waist. Romeo held onto Ben just as tight, refusing to let go when they heard a knock on the front door. Ben whispered countless apologies in his ear, repeating "I love you" over and over and over until it became a chorus in his head for years to come.

"Romeo, you can let go now. Someone is at the door." Ben chuckled, his voice cracking slightly. Reluctantly, Romeo loosened his arms from around Ben's neck, holding his face gently.  
"I love you so much. So, so much." He whispered, kissing Ben gently. Ben smiled slightly, pressing his forehead against Romeo's.  
"I know." That was the last thing Ben would ever say to him. Romeo watched Ben exit the kitchen, the anxiety from his nightmare completely gone, replaced with unending love for the man he saw before him.  
Realizing he forgot about the coffee, he walked over to the machine, making him and Ben a cup each. His with as much sugar as humanly possible, Ben's black. Just how they liked it. Resuming his place at the table, he heard Ben talking quietly to whoever was at the door. He waited for a few more minutes, debating on whether or not to take the coffee to Ben. Deciding against it, he remained at the table, straining to hear anything they were saying.  
Suddenly, the door slammed, and there was silence. After Ben didn’t come back into the kitchen, Romeo stood, and walked to the entryway. As he looked over the scene laid out in front of him, tears sprung in his eyes, and a sob rose in his throat.  
Ben’s lifeless body laid on the floor in front of the door, his head completely detached from his body. Blood still poured from the wound, and Romeo stared, his brain hardly comprehending what he saw. When he finally processed the image, he broke into a sob, running to the body of his once lively partner. He knelt next to the body, and pulled it into his arms, holding the bleeding mess to his chest. His suitor, his husband, his one and only. Gone. Just like that.

Romeo didn’t notice the blood that was getting all over his clothes, and he didn’t notice the sound of sirens, until the door was kicked in, and he was forcefully dragged away from what remained of the love of his life.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading!  
> Also: this project is is going on hiatus for a while. So don't expect an update for a few months!


End file.
